Making Rainsticks

We worked together as a whole team and made a rainstick today. If you are interested (and brave) and would like to make a home made rainstick, here is how you do it. You will need a tube (like a mailing tube or big paper roll innard), nails (the longer the better--as long as they do not go through the tube), hammer, duct tape and masking tape, thinks to make the rain noise such as dried beans, small pasta, rice, lentils, popcorn etc.

1. Pound nails into the tube in a pattern that follows just next to the seam of the tube--a spiral down and around. Pound in two more tracks of nails following the same pattern, but now away from the seam. You will easily use a box or more of nails. Kids may need an adult to start the nail for them, then they can hammer it in. 

2. Next, seal one end tight with duct tape. We made an X pattern and then covered all the holes and then streched a piece of duct tape around the top of the tube to hold it all tight.

3. Fill the rainstick. When you look in you will see the pattern of the nails you hammered. Put in a generous amount of dried beans, lentils, rice, small pasta, and popcorn. You can test how the stick will sound by covering the open end with a jar top and tipping the stick over. We checked twice and put in more stuff before we were satisfied.

4. Close the other end of the rainstick with duct tape. Then use colored duct tape and/or masking tape to cover the whole stick. This will keep the nail heads from sticking out.

5. Play your rainstick by turning it upside down and letting all the dried food pieces hit the nails on their way down.